HBO

After a lengthy hiatus, the ever-resourceful Curb Your Enthusiasm is returning for a ninth and hopefully not final season. HBO made the announcement earlier today, adding that “details of the new season will be announced as they are confirmed.” The president of HBO programming, Casey Bloys, said, “We’re thrilled that Larry has decided to do a new season of Curb and can’t wait to see what he has planned,” while David, in typical Larry David fashion, explained the gap between seasons with, “In the immortal words of Julius Caesar, I left, I did nothing, I returned.” Good to have you back, Larry.

Not that he hasn’t been busy. Since 2011, when season eight (the show’s best, in this Jew’s humble opinion) wrapped, David starred in and wrote an HBO movie (Clear History) and practically became a full-time cast member on SNL with his perfectly cranky Bernie Sanders impression. But more Curb — maybe even as a movie — was never out of the question, much to Jennifer Lawrence’s delight. J.B. Smoove recently told Rich Eisen that he called David, who he described as being “old,” and said, “I just talk about regular stuff with him. It’s not always Curb stuff. But this time, aha! This time, he brought up Curb Your Enthusiasm. I don’t ever bring it up. He brought it up this time.”

See? Calling “old” people does occasionally pay off. Anyway, hearing that familiar theme song again is going to sound…

HBO

HBO

In case you hadn’t heard the news, HBO announced yesterday that Curb Your Enthusiasm (which you can stream on HBO Now) will be coming back for a much-anticipated ninth season at some point in the future. It’s been five long years since the show’s eighth season signed off, and even though it’ll be a little while before we’re actually watching a new episode of Curb, we’re going to go ahead and start the celebration now. And what better way to do that than with a remembrance of some of Larry David’s most winning moments and a careful consideration of how the study of Larry can help you in your efforts to be constantly right and win every argument.

1. Stick To Your Convictions.

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When Larry’s called out by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, (playing her fictionalized self), over a stain that’s left on her end table, Larry is quick to defend himself by noting that his carefully constructed social routine clears him of any wrong doing; and really his story is pretty sound. Not only does he respect wood — something he’s quick to point out to everyone — but he’s clearly the type of guy who’s not into shaking hands, which is why he keeps a glass in hand. Although he doesn’t quite convince Julia that he wasn’t responsible for staining her antique table, that doesn’t mean he’s not bound and determined to clear his name. Remember, winning is about determination — even when it looks like the odds seem like they’re against you.

2. Don’t Be Afraid To Call Out Bad Behavior

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It’s an awkward moment that’s been around since cell phones started becoming commonplace, and it only got worse once bluetooth devices became the accessory of choice for business bros. Thankfully, Larry doesn’t react to commonplace situations in the most expected way, and when he ends up sitting next to one of these guys, he responds masterfully by starting an equally high-volume conversation with absolutely no one. Should you find yourself in Larry’s situation here — and there’s almost 100% that you will — don’t hesitate to start a conversation with an imaginary friend. After all, why should those with a bluetooth in their ear have all the fun?

3. Have A Clear Sense Of Right And Wrong

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After Larry accidentally stumbles across the owner of the dog who’s been repeatedly soiling his lawn, he makes a surprisingly reasonable argument: the dog’s owner should’ve brought a bag with her to clean up after her dog. In Larry’s mind, the dog and the bag are inseparable, and should be considered a package deal. Of course, it’s not just Larry speaking about his lawn here, he’s speaking for everyone — dog-owners and non-dog-owners alike.

4. The Golden Rule

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When Larry tries to bring a bottle of water into a theater, he’s stopped by another patron he mistakes for a theater employee. When he notices that she’s not an employee of the theater, but simply someone attending the show, Larry fights back, accusing her of violating the golden rule. The question of who was “right” here could be debated for hours on end, but you can’t deny that Larry has a point. Do unto others, my friends.

5. Have A Great Closing Line

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“You’re right about the bread, Simmington. It is hard.”

When Larry is presented with the opportunity to not only save two acquaintances — Donna (Samantha Mathis) and Ricky Gervais (as himself) — from being mugged on the subway, he does so in heroic fashion by beating the mugger with a hardened baguette. It’s a great moment for the character and one that gives him the ultimate closing line against Gervais, who had shown him up earlier in the episode. If you want to win an argument, always have a great walkaway line.

6. And An Even Better Catchphrase

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If Larry David had a rallying cry, “Pretty good. Pret-ty pret-ty pret-ty good.” would be it. And if you asked any of the show’s fans how they felt about yesterday’s news, almost all of them would give this as the answer. Keep something like this in your pocket for the argument afterparty when you are celebrating your successes.

HBO

Fans of Larry David and his mega-fun, mega-uncomfortable HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm rejoiced this past week when it was revealed that the show will be returning to your cable boxes for a long, long, loooooooong awaited ninth season. And now, it looks like the wait for those episodes to actually exist won’t be much longer.

The Hollywood Reporter got a hold of Jeff Schaffer, David’s right-hand man on Curb as well as the co-creator of FX’s long-running fantasy football comedy, The League. Schaffer, who is fully on board for the next Curb season, had some very exciting news to pass along to the show’s loyal cult of viewers.

“It won’t be long. It won’t be long. Geologically speaking, it’ll be a blink of an eye,” Schaffer said regarding when the new Curb season will air. “Whether the next season of Curb came out one year later, three years later, five years later, 20 years later — detailing the petty behavior of the selfish and the self-serving is an evergreen business.”

Schaffer also noted that as far as the cast is concerned, “We’d love to have everyone back. And I think everyone wants to be back, so it should be business as usual.” Nice. It’ll be a treat to hear Susie Essman’s next stream of jagged, ear-splitting torrents of profanity and witness Jeff Garlin’s dubiousness at it all. Or especially Cheryl Hines’s nonchalance in the face of all that, as Schaffer put it, “petty behavior of the selfish and self-serving.”

The plan, per Schaffer, is for a typical, 10-episode season and that he and David are working on them. “We’ve gone from the theoretical to the practical, and that’s a big step.”

Will the next big step a release date? Stay tuned.

(via THR)

Now Watch: Ranking Larry David’s Best Enemies On ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’

There’s hardly a character on Curb Your Enthusiasm (which you can stream on HBO Now) that hasn’t been burned by their association with Larry David. Whether it’s romantic troubles or social mishaps, Larry somehow always finds a way to hone in on the disaster potential in a situation and steer his friends right towards it. His uncanny ability to often unconsciously find these friendship landmines is his part of his essence, and exactly what makes him a terrible friend to everyone on the show. And with a new season of Curb approaching, we thought we’d take the opportunity to take a closer look at those TV friendships and all that bad behavior.

He Has No Respect For The Deceased.

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Why Marty Funkhouser considers Larry his best friend is mystery for the ages. All Larry does is assault the man’s family with one callous social blunder after the other. Never mind denying Marty the right to call himself an orphan — Larry was totally in the right on that one — or being the catalyst for his daughter’s relationship struggles, Larry does the most damage when Marty’s at his most vulnerable.

Larry heaped on the grief when Marty’s dad died and he took one of his golf clubs out of the coffin — a move that probably sealed his place in hell — but that was just a practice swing. Larry really stepped it up when he stole flowers from Marty’s mother’s roadside memorial, not once, but multiple times. Sure, he may have tried to pin the blame on Marty for passing him off a sweaty $50, but it was a weak excuse. It’s only a matter of time before Marty loses somebody else come season nine and Larry shows up to literally piss on the grave.

He’ll Wreak Havoc On Your Home Life.

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If Susie Greene ever snaps and beats Jeff to death with one of his own golf clubs, you can bet that Larry will be the source of her mental breakdown. And she’ll probably go after him next. Granted, Susie and Jeff’s home life isn’t exactly a picturesque model of marital bliss, but it would likely be a lot calmer if Larry wasn’t in it. He’s gotten the Greenes kicked out of country clubs, private schools, and largely been responsible for nearly all of Susie’s public meltdowns. Larry may be Jeff’s biggest client with that piggy bank of Seinfeld money he’s sitting on, but Jeff needs to ask himself, at what cost? Susie shouldn’t just ban Larry from her house, but ban him from her life.

He’ll Traumatize Your Children.

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Larry probably means well when he’s around children. Sure, there was that time he told Jeff’s daughter Sammy to “shut the f*ck up” because he was sleeping. There was also the time he bought a kid a sewing kit and encouraged Nazi-inspired crafts. And the time he shattered Sammy’s childhood belief in magic by ruining the Tooth Fairy, but… where was I?

He’s Ungrateful.

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Friends show gratitude, repay favors, and generally maintain a pleasant disposition when a buddy does something nice for them — except for Larry David. In Larry’s warped mind, somebody doing something nice for him carries with it a burden of having to pay it forward or return the favor. So, he generally opts for the alternative: either rudely refusing it altogether or somehow using the favor to burn the person so bad they curse him out and regret the nice gesture altogether. Sure, Larry could have simply taken a bite of the pie Ted Danson bought for him in “Denise Handicapped” or said he was taking it home, but that’s just not the Larry David way.

He’ll Mess With Your Mind.

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Government interrogation specialists could probably learn a lot from hanging out with Larry David for a few weeks. The man is a master of mental warfare and he doesn’t even know it. As explained in our previous examples, Larry’s adept at driving a wedge between people and bringing a person to the point of mentally unraveling, simply by being himself. Some geniuses are able to produce brilliant works of art or unlock the mysteries of science. Larry’s genius is mindf*cking everyone he calls a friend through the smallest of gestures.

Larry did give his pal Richard Lewis a kidney — though very grudgingly so — in season five, but he made sure to mess with Richard’s head before doing so.

He’ll Sabotage Your Relationship.

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While Larry might subconsciously do his best to tear apart Jeff and Susie’s marriage, he’s been incredibly successful at using his social blunders to ruin Richard Lewis’ romantic life. Throughout Curb‘s run, Richard has landed himself beautiful women that he believes “could be the one” only to watch the relationship go up in a puff of smoke because he made the mistake of introducing them to Larry. You fool, Richard Lewis!

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It’s almost awe-inspiring the amount of unguided creativity that Larry has showcased in the ways he’s ruined Richard’s blossoming romances. He’s done everything from flat-out insulted their fake breasts to drugging them with baked goods and hiring them as secretaries, undoing Richard’s relationships each and every time. He’s truly a romantic menace to all of his friends, but Richard Lewis especially. Be smart and don’t make friends with a guy/gal like Larry.

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When Curb Your Enthusiasm (which is available to stream on HBO Now) debuted in late 2000, the show was immediately recognized as a sort of west coast extension of the fascinating world Larry David had co-created on Seinfeld. In both shows, David had an incredible ability to take a familiar social situation — or unfamiliar one, for that matter — and push the limits of what was acceptable behavior in a normal, functioning society.

In no other situation was that more evident than when David tackled the world of romantic relationships. On Seinfeld, the characters of Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer ran through more dates than any of them should have expected based on their anti-social personalities. And yet, despite their shortcomings, the characters taught us countless valuable lessons, such as “a weekend trip to Vermont is not a good third date,” or “don’t grab the booth with bad lighting,” or “under no circumstances should you date your cousin.” That last one should have been a given, but I digress.

On Curb, the relationship lessons were far less blatant and explicit, but they were each important in their own sick and twisted ways. Here are five dating lessons you could only learn from our favorite anti-social from the world of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Let Your Partner Know What You Want

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While Larry and Cheryl laid in bed and said their good nights, Cheryl began to wonder out loud why she was the one who always had to initiate sex. Larry seemed confused since he assumed that it was known that he was available for sex all the time and that a simple tap on the shoulder was all he needed to be ready to go. Cheryl was not enthusiastic about his lack of romance. So what’s the lesson for here? Never be shy about telling your partner that you are down to clown in sexy town if they are so inclined. But maybe say it in a more alluring way.

Be Careful How You Enter A New Love Interest’s Name Into Your Phone

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A cell phone rolodex is a sacred thing. I’m sure we all have embarrassing entries in our own personal contact lists. For me, I have a one named Elizabeth Babysitter. I’ve entrusted poor Elizabeth to watch my kids for four years now, yet I still don’t know her last name. So, in a way, I can relate to Larry in this episode. Then again, it takes a certain kind of inconsiderate a-hole to even type the words “Wendy Wheelchair” into your phone. Couldn’t he have just gone with “Wendy?” What were the odds he knew more than one Wendy?

If Your Date Doesn’t Show, Eat Alone And Spoil Yourself So You’re In A Better Place For Next Time

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The advice doesn’t match the moment exactly, but during the Season 6 episode titled “The TiVo Guy,” Larry and Cheryl had broken up, so Larry found himself sitting all alone at a fancy restaurant where the two had previously made reservations. Seated next to him was “Bluetooth Headset Guy,” who was carrying on a loud conversation that only he was privy to. Naturally, an annoyed Larry proceeded to have a fake conversation with the empty chair across the table. This episode is five-years old, but the premise from this scene is still fresh. Bluetooth Headset Guy is a hypothetical person who still exists in the real world, and they’re no less deserving of our public shame and ridicule than they were back then. Larry’s actions here were heroic and made the most out of eating alone while in-between relationships. After all, how can you be with someone else if you can’t romance yourself and I’m sure Larry was never more turned on by his own actions.

Always Be Willing To Meet And Spend Quality Time With New People

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Larry had tickets to the Dodgers game, but he was running late and traffic was horrible. So, he did what any person in a similar situation would do: He hired a prostitute to accompany him so that he could legally use the car pool lane and make it to the game on time. Just like the typical beginning to a classic American love story. What did he learn from the experience? New people are what makes life worth living. They take us out of our comfort zone and invite us to explore parts of our lives left dormant by our preconceived notions of who we are and who we socialize with.

You Can’t Eat Where You Sh*t

HBO

When Larry started dating the hostess at a restaurant where he and Jeff often frequented, Jeff was skeptical of Larry’s theory that even if they were to break up, it wouldn’t stop Larry from continuing to eat there. “I’ve never seen it done,” said Jeff. “I’m hell-bent on doing it,” replied Larry. Alas, they DID break up, Larry attempted to “eat where he sh*t,” and she likely poisoned his food. Lesson learned?

Honorable Mentions: Always get your flowers from a florist and not a roadside memorial and suffer in silence if you have a pube caught in your throat.

HBO

Not unlike how Larry David feels about wood, Curb Your Enthusiasm is something that TV nerds revere. HBO’s heavyweight champ of combining comedy and cringe is returning for a ninth season and now Home Box Office has offered up a drizzle of details about when we’ll get a chance to see it.

Consequence of Sound reports that HBO’s programming chief Casey Bloys provided a bit of dish during a Television Critics Association chat today. He shared that production on new episodes might begin in the fall with a 2017 landing date targeted for the upcoming season. Bloys made sure to caution that those scheduling plans “could slide,” so adjust your expectations and fantasies about Larry tearing into folks accordingly.

The last season of Curb arrived in 2011, but Larry David’s been keeping pretty, pretty, pretty busy during the gap between episodes. He’s performed on Broadway courtesy of Fish in the Dark, Whatever Works and The Three Stooges were added to his filmography and he nobly ran for president before being outpaced by Hillary Clinton. Seeing as we’re all waiting politely for Curb to return, let’s revisit some vital lessons Curb Your Enthusiasm can teach us about relationships.

(Via Consequence of Sound)

Bernie Sanders might be out of the election, but his presence is still being felt through his supporters and through his portrayal by Larry David on SNL. David took up the role to great acclaim last season and made his return during the premiere despite a fine send off to close out season 41. Much like the real life Sanders, David returns to play supporter for Hillary Clinton.

Instead of putting him on the campaign trail, SNL places Sanders at the head of the clan on Celebrity Family Feud. On his side is the return of Darrell Hammond as Bill Clinton, Cecily Strong as Lin Manuel Miranda, and new castmember Melissa Villaseñor as Sarah Silverman. On the opposing side we have Team Trump, led by Kellyanne Conway (Kate McKinnon), Ivanka Trump (Margot Robbie), Bobby Moynihan’s Chris Christie, and a very shirtless Vladimir Putin (Beck Bennett).

Is the sketch itself a knockout? No way. But it does have its moments and we get to see Larry David play pretend for a few more minutes. Kenan Thompson’s Steve Harvey is also in top form, which isn’t something you’ll read everyday. Also a special tip of the hat needs to be given for the recreation of that Trump children photo from a few weeks back. I didn’t think it was possibly to make that creepier, but it happened.

(Via SNL)

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Through the course of Curb Your Enthusiasm’s eight seasons, one thing has become very clear — the fictionalized version of Larry David is a petty man. He’s not the kind of guy to let bygones be bygones or turn the other cheek. Nope, if he think’s he’s been wronged in some way — no matter how insignificant — he’ll stop at nothing to seek his revenge. It’s part of what makes him endearing and a true hero — because we all wish we could minorly wreak havoc on the people that screw us over in this life… even if we’re all supposed to be better than that.

David’s revenge tactics and ways of righting the universe in his own favor rarely go smoothly, of course, but the guy gets credit for creativity. With that in mind, here are five times Larry went low on Curb Your Enthusiasm (which is available to stream on HBO Now).

5. Convincing Jeff To Deflate Thor’s Tires

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Letting the air of out of somebody’s tires is a classic revenge tactic and one of the go-to methods for bitter lovers. It’s also pretty juvenile and only slightly above leaving a flaming bag of poop on somebody’s doorstep. Nevertheless, it’s the course of revenge that Larry decides to go with when he blames professional wrestler Thor for slashing his tires — it’s an eye for an eye solution, but of course, Larry keeps himself free of risk by sending his friend/occasional henchman. And like the idiot he is, Jeff (Jeff Garlin) agrees.

It’s never fully explained how Jeff managed to survive his run-in with Thor after he’s caught in the act. My suspicion is that he got lucky and was in the vicinity of a police officer. Otherwise, he surely would have been on the receiving end of one of Thor’s pants-pooping bodyslams.

4. Stealing A Dead Man’s Golf Club

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Okay, while this one isn’t technically an act of revenge it is a response to a possible act of revenge by Sven, an employee at Larry’s golf club who is definitely not Swedish. It’s also an unfortunate act of aggression towards the Funkhouser clan at a really inopportune time (though, to be fair, Marty did deny Larry use of a pretty great golf tip previously). As we’ve explained previously, Marty Funkhouser (Bob Einstein) believes, for some reason, that he and Larry are best buds despite Larry’s penchant for stomping on poor Marty’s heart. Rather than just pull Marty aside and try to explain that his golf club somehow (Sven!) ended up in the casket of his father — or letting it go like any rational human being would — Larry and Jeff decide a swap is the best option. The plan has to be one of the worst that he and Jeff have ever concocted and it quickly devolves into disaster because Funkhouser’s don’t miss a tick and Norm (Paul Mazursky) has it out for Larry and his sloppy ways.

3. Larry Recruits His Therapist For A Purse-Snatching Scheme

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It’s kind of amazing that Larry has avoided prosecution on Curb Your Enthusiasm to this point. He surrounds himself with idiots and commits semi-serious infractions on a semi-regular basis. After Cheryl’s (Cheryl Hines) therapist advises her to make a clean break from Larry, he and Jeff concoct a plan to scare her into his good graces by staging a fake robbery so that he can swoop into rescue mode. It’s both a terrible and sinister idea that Leon (J.B. Smoove) knows is bound to fail. Miraculously, Larry’s attempt at psychological warfare on Cheryl’s therapist works and he’s reunited with Cheryl. His dimwitted therapist (Steve Coogan), of course, goes to jail, but hey, you gotta break a few eggs to make an omelet.

2. “Call Me Hester”

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Never shy about freaking out on someone, David leaves his pants in the dressing room of a Banana Republic and returns the next day to find them gone before losing patience with the cashier in the “Office Krupke” episode. Rather than simply chalk this up to his own carelessness or even trotting out the standard pissed-off shopper retort by refusing to ever shop at the store again, David seeks revenge for what he sees as the store’s wrongdoing by stealing the pants. Banana Republic khakis cost about $70 and Larry could have probably bought the store’s inventory with his residuals from Sour Grapes, never mind his big time Seinfeld money. But in his warped mind, the only solution is to proudly wear the security tag on the pants as a scarlet letter and declare himself the Hester Prynne of the Beverly Hills Banana Republic.

1. Larry Hires An Orchestra To Play On A Guy’s Lawn

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Larry David doesn’t do well waiting in lines. Whether he’s waiting for frozen yogurt, buying perfume or going to the movies, it’s only a matter of time until he pisses somebody off. In season two’s “Trick or Treat,” David manages to offend another Jewish man by whistling a song by Adolf Hitler’s favorite composer, Richard Wagner. Loaded with the ammo of German classical music, Larry unleashes his grandest revenge plot after the man’s teenage daughter and her friend toilet paper his house because he (naturally) refused to give them candy on Halloween. Sure, he could have taken a note from John Cusack in Say Anything and simply stood outside the guy’s house with a boombox and a Wagner CD, but that would be too easy. Hiring the musicians that he’d originally hired for Cheryl’s birthday to play the Wagner tune on his enemy’s front lawn was pretty, pretty, pretty good.

Larry David is one of those celebrities we don’t know too much about. He attends the occasional NBA game but for the most part is a private person. So it was wild to learn that for Halloween this year David went as famous skateboarder Tony Hawk and he has the ability to skateboard at the age of 69.

That’s nice.

Hawk posted the picture of David to his Twitter page while David was about to drop in. And folks, I know what you’re going to say. “That’s not Larry David on a skateboard. That’s Larry David photoshopped onto a skateboard.” I thought so too, but I zoomed in really tight and that photo has not been doctored. That’s the creator of Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm in the middle of a run. Amazing.

Sadly, I couldn’t find any pictures of David in his Tony Hawk makeup and outfit. It’s just David on the skateboard. I sent an e-mail to David’s publicist asking for a photo of David in full Hawk gear but haven’t heard back. As stated earlier, David is a private person so maybe he doesn’t want any images of himself beyond this one in the public, so maybe we should respect his privacy.

(Ed note: It turns out this is Tony Hawk dressed as Larry David. Well, shoot. Too late to change the headline now.)

(Tony Hawk on Twitter)

The last new episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, season eight’s “Larry vs. Michael J. Fox,” aired on Sept. 11, 2011. That is simply unacceptable (although, considering the date, somehow appropriate). Larry David has remained busy with movies (Whatever Works), made-for-TV movies (Clear History), and cranky impressions (Bernie Sanders on SNL), but it’s not the same as having Curb back in our lives. Unfortunately, David is nowhere to be seen in a video HBO just posted to celebrate the first day of filming for season nine.

Fortunately, Morris Day and the Time fanatic J.B. Smoove is.

“Leon Black is back, baby,” Smoove says, before trying to get David to leave his trailer. It doesn’t work. That can only mean one thing: “If you don’t come outside, I’m gonna do this whole season by myself. And don’t think I can’t do it.” Smoove waits a beat. “Hey, get them cameras ready. Here comes J.B.”

Of course, that’s not the real Larry David. The really Larry David, as Smoove told Uproxx, is a “soft-spoken, funny guy. He has his interests. He loves his golf, and other certain things he loves, and we’ve become friends. I love that guy.” It would be interesting watching a Leon Black spin-off, though.

As long as my man Marty Funkhouser comes along for the ride, too.

Despite authoring two of television’s best comedies (Curb Your Enthusiasm and Seinfeld), Larry David just isn’t a very excitable guy. Sure, he managed to improve his otherwise unlikable-but-funny persona with his Bernie Sanders impression on Saturday Night Live, but the line between the real Larry and TV’s Larry is very thin. Hence the short teaser for CNN’s The History of Comedy documentary series above, in which David rails against documentaries before getting over himself and asking his interviewers for their questions.

“How did they talk me into this?” he exclaims. “I hate documentaries. I hate being on documentaries. I hate answering questions. Anyway, all right. What do you got? Let’s begin the unpleasantness.”

Executive produced by Sean Hayes (Will & Grace) and Todd Milliner (Grimm), History of Comedy premieres Thursday, February 9 at 9 p.m. ET on CNN following its Sundance premiere. Along with David’s typically-Larry David interview, the eight-part series features in-depth conversations with comic actors, producers and comedians like Samantha Bee, Conan O’Brien, Betty White, Al Franken, Margaret Cho, Kathy Griffin, George Lopez, Keegan-Michael Key, Dick Cavett, Ali Wong, W. Kamau Bell, Norman Lear, Carol Burnett, Patton Oswalt, Larry David, Judd Apatow, Sarah Silverman and Jimmy Kimmel.

In the first episode, titled “Going Blue,” History of Comedy will tackle the ins and outs of Lenny Bruce, George Carlin and Dick Gregory’s controversial stand-up. Whether or not snippets of David’s interview will appear remains to be seen, though considering Curb‘s penchant for alarming wake-up calls, CNN may sneak in a few choice clips. It’s basic cable, after all.

(Via Entertainment Weekly)

After a three-month hiatus in which President-elect Donald Trump has said and done plenty of silly things worthy of his scrutiny, comedian John Oliver is bringing Last Week Tonight back to HBO for a fourth season. The former Daily Show correspondent turned parody news show host dropped a new promo for the hugely popular weekly program on Wednesday. And judging by the premium network’s use of its own hit series and stars to help push Oliver along, it seems season four is going to be even better than what came before it.

Then again, judging by the seemingly endless slate of successful shows HBO pumps out every year, throwing in a bunch of obvious references to Game of Thrones, Silicon Valley and the upcoming ninth season of Curb Your Enthusiasm is simply good advertising. Even Oliver admits as much as he bickers with the teaser’s narrator about how his program isn’t the same as all the other ones the off-screen voice keeps trying to introduce. “Oh wait. Oh I’m sorry, you meant [someone else],” he says from behind the Iron Throne. “It’s just, I heard your voice and I assumed.”

HBO-patting-itself-on-the-back jokes notwithstanding, Oliver turns the tables on his final cut-in when the narrator begins announcing the return of Curb Your Enthusiasm with creator and star Larry David in tow. “Why have you been off for five years?” Oliver asks. “What have you been doing?” David’s response? “Things!”

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Last Week Tonight with John Oliver returns Sunday, February 12th at 11:30 p.m. ET on HBO.

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Despite appearing in the recent Octavia Spencer-hosted episode of Saturday Night Live and popping up in Comedy Central’s “Colossal Clusterfest” festival announcement, Pete Davidson’s public appearances have been scant as of late. Even his Instagram account, where Davidson often reflected on the loss of his father on September 11, 2001, has been emptied of all its content. Or at least that was the case until Monday night, when the 23-year-old comedian published a string of posts celebrating his newfound sobriety and the people in his life who influenced him to “quit drugs.”

Per People, Davidson revealed he “just wanted to let you guys know I’m okay” in the first of three posts he published:

I know I’ve kinda been missing, on social media and on the show. I quit drugs and am happy and sober for the first time in 8 years. It wasn’t easy, but I got a great girl, great friends and I consider myself a lucky man. I’ll always be here for you guys, I promise. Remember to never give up hope because sometimes that’s all we got. We are a family and I appreciate all your love and support. It’s nice to be back in action ❤️

Said “great girl,” as you may recall, is none other than Larry David’s daughter Cazzie. Davidson followed up his initial heartfelt post with two images of the doting pair, saying he “Couldn’t pick one so I went with two” and describing himself as the “luckiest guy in the world.” The SNL player also published a screenshot from the Dave Chappelle-hosted episode of SNL with the simple caption, “squad goals.”

Davidson’s newfound sobriety is telling since, as People notes, the young comic opened up to High Times last September about his use of medical marijuana to treat Crohn’s disease. “I got Crohn’s disease when I was 17 or 18,” he said. “I found that the medicines that the doctors were prescribing me and seeing all these doctors and trying new things… weed would be the only thing that would help me eat.” Of course, medical marijuana can do a lot of good for many people, but it’s good to know Davidson is taking care of himself.

(Via People)

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Seinfeld added so many things to the cultural zeitgeist over its nine seasons and 173 episodes: Festivus, urban sombreros, domain mastering, etc. But they didn’t get to finish every storyline they were working on. Some stories just didn’t quite fit anywhere, or appeared on the show in a different form, such as an abandoned character arc wherein the Soup Nazi turns out to be an actual Nazi war criminal. Entertainment Weekly spoke to David Mandel (Veep) and Jeff Schaffer (Curb Your Enthusiasm) about Seinfeld storylines that never made it onto the show.

There was almost an episode where Frank Costanza (Jerry Stiller) would start using medical marijuana for his cataracts. Mandel said, “the idea of Jerry Stiller on pot just seemed like comedy gold.” They abandoned the storyline when they heard a rumor another show (Cybil— remember Cybil?) was already working on a similar storyline.

This one might be my favorite, where the gang goes to another country but does everything the same, as explained by Mandel:

“Had there been another season, I certainly would have tried to write this, because it was near and dear to my heart. The idea was that Jerry and the gang go on a vacation somewhere — say, Mexico — and they would check into their hotel rooms, and Jerry would end up with a hotel room right across from Kramer’s hotel room, so the hotel-room dynamic would have been the same as the apartments. The entire episode would have taken place in Mexico but everything would have been kind of the same — there would have been a Mexican diner that they sat in. I just thought the idea of taking the building blocks of Seinfeld — the apartments across the hall and the coffee shop — and transporting that to Mexico would be really fun. When Jerry decided to end the show, and I realized there weren’t going to be enough episodes, I was like, ‘Oh God, I wish there was one more season.'”

So do we.

You can read about the other lost storylines — like the one about Kramer getting a job “refurbishing skeletons” — over at Entertainment Weekly. Considering Jerry Seinfeld still has the old set in storage somewhere (and has big plans for it), would it be wrong for us to imagine he’s got it set up in his mansion and is reenacting these lost stories right now? Because we’re imagining it. And he’s in a bee costume.

(Via Entertainment Weekly)

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White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon is listed as a producer for 18 movies on IMDb, including such classics as The Indian Runner and Fire from the Heartland, the “first-ever film to tell the entire story of the conservative woman in her own words.” But like all things Trump, Bannon’s most (only?) notorious claim to fame in Hollywood relates to television. Two years before the series went into syndication, Bannon “accepted a stake in five shows, including one in its third season regarded as the runt of the litter: Seinfeld.”

Forbes reported that Bannon has “made about $32.6 million since 1998” from the deal (much to Jason Alexander and Rob Reiner’s dismay), but you shouldn’t feel guilty about binging Seinfeld on Hulu; it’s unlikely Bannon continues to make money from the show. “It is possible that Bannon’s deal was capped and paid out at that time,” according to the New Yorker, because since then, “neither CBS nor Castle Rock nor Warner Bros. has records of payments to Bannon, if those records are as they were described to me.”

In April 1997, he submitted an “income and expense declaration,” indicating that his annual salary was roughly $500,000, and that his total assets were around $1.1 million. Any profit participations from Seinfeld should have shown up at that time. Either they were not substantial or Bannon failed to disclose them in a sworn statement.

You’d think the co-creator of a wildly popular show would know everyone who profits from his work, but Larry David isn’t any co-creator. “I don’t think I ever heard of him until he surfaced with the Trump campaign,” he confessed, “and I had no idea that he was profiting from the work of industrious Jews!”

Worst of all, Bannon’s favorite episode is “The Puerto Rican Day.” Do better.

(Via the New Yorker)